A Final Long-Distance Dedication to a Great One: Casey Kasem 1932-2014

20 comments:

Goodbye Casey. I enjoyed listening to him over the years. Casey remained very active until about six or seven years ago, I believe, then suddenly the parkinsons and other diseases took his abilities of communication away. Thank you Mr. Kasem,

On a second note; Ida Rothschild has been found. This 9 y/o girl was missing in the Samuel Taylor Park in Marin County on Friday night. She was out in the dark woods all night long and found yesterday by a Sheriff. I can't help wondering if poor Ida has some degree of mental disability to have 'gotten lost and staying lost' so very quickly. Either way, it can happen to any parent. Back in the old days, I used to see young Mums with a braided leash around their toddlers waist. Today, I see that once in a while, not as often though, not with CPS peeping into every household as much as they are foolishly allowed.

Thank you, Casey. You were, and remain, a pioneer, a trendsetter and a broadcaster to be forever remembered. Now, without pain and your communication skills restored in an afterlife we can only imagine, "Keep your feet on the ground ... and keep reaching for the stars."

I proudly own the first four-vinyl disk set of American Top 40 from Watermark, with cue sheets, that took Casey 18 hours to record Show #1 for the July 4th weekend of 1970. I was lucky to have retrieved it from a trashcan at WAMS in Wilmington, DE. It has been played just once -- on the air -- and I had that honor back "in the day." That set will be a treasure to me forever.

We also thank you partner, Don who co-founded the idea with you, and the recently passed Tom Rounds who was the genius mind who syndicated AT-40 through Watermark and ABC Radio. No satellites back then; only vinyl disks for years of AT-40s 39 year existence with Casey at the helm.

We thank you for the classic "Dead Dog Dedication" and smile with you. A viral recording of priceless memory that you stated you didn't know went everywhere long before the Internet. The reels of tape and those passed around cassettes still exist and will forevermore. A great voiced today silenced, but always remembered.

Thank you, Mr. Kasem. You deserved better, much better, in your post-golden years of retirement. For that, your "family" of fans in the millions around the world apologize. From those who love you, our heartfelt thanks. "And the countdown continues," always, Casey. - JB

Also, RIP Chuck Noll. The mastermind and leader of a great football dynasty. Four Super Bowl rings in less than a decade, built from Noll's drafting, evaluation, and coaching expertise. Like Bill Walsh, he turned a hopeless situation into all-time greatness.

And in Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, (Oakland) and LA He is already missed and so tragically died without a voice unable to defend himself from the trashing of his uncorked wife, Jean. God knows how long this court fight in probate will last. Maybe years?

The Bay Area Radio Museum says Casey worked at KYA in 1961, but states no detail. It says that Casey moved to KEWB in Oakland a year later. He took off for LA in '63 to KRLA for six years before the launch of AT-40 nationally on July 4, 1970 Though there is only a one line mention of Kasem at "KYA, 1961" -- further study does not show this information anywhere else, including on the Bay Area Radio Museum's website. A KYA record survey from '61 shows no mention of Kasem, but includes pictures of Bill Drake (mornngs) and the rest of the six jocks of the time, but not Casey Kasem.

To 5:30 and 3:42, Terry Sullivan (formerly of KYA) checked in yesterday on a NYC radio board and said Kasem worked overnights at KYA in 1961, but for so short a time that Sullivan, who was working afternoons, never crossed paths with him at the station.

I have a rare aircheck of Casey at WBNY in Buffalo, NY from 1961. He sounds nothing like the Casey Kasem we came to know, but this recording contains a high energy presentation complete with wildtracks, recorded sounds, and one-liners from Casey. He called it "Casey at the Mike".

I recall reading an interview from about 1975 when he was asked, "what is the thing you regret most in your career"? His answer was "arguing with the general manager in Buffalo". That could be WBNY, to wit the aircheck I have. Strangely, Buffalo is missing from a couple of references to his past stations, though he clearly worked there.

It is very possible that was trying to get a job at WKBW in Buffalo, across town from WBNY. WBNY was a one-lung daytimer while WKBW was a 50,000-watt behemoth blowtorch that covered the eastern half of the United States at night. I believe the owner of WKBW was Clint Churchill, who also owned KYA. That was right around the time he sold KYA to Bartell, so maybe he thought here in Casey was cheap talent who could be put on KYA while the sale was in transition. Another possibility is that Casey was trying to bury WBNY as dirty laundry in the history of his portfolio of worked stations, and he substituted KYA for it.

No matter what, though, Casey Kasem blossomed into one of the finest talents on radio, one who had a knack for at least sounding sincere. He found his calling. He sold well, as he related to a (largely) female audience with his great stories, his dedications, and his from-the-heart sounding presentation. He was in a league by himself.

I worked at KYA from 1959 to 1963. The station was owned by Bartell until it was sold to Churchill in 1962 (not the other way around). So KYA was owned by Bartell when Kasem very briefly worked there in 1961. --Terry Sullivan

When I started in radio back in the late 80's other than "God Squad" tapes, playing American Top 40 was my break into radio. I still have some of the vinyl somewhere. We all aspired to be like him being heard all over the country and the world. I got a kick out of hearing all of the call letters from all over the US and when ours was announced I kept that disk. He will be missed....

Music has changed so much since the 70's and 80's that pop music (hip-hop--ugh!) doesn't interest me as much. Nevertheless, it was fun growing up with American Top 40 (radio) and America's Top 10 (on TV) and seeing Casey Kasem enthusiastically count down the charts. For the short while that KFRC was back on the air, they would replay old AT 40 shows on Saturdays. AT 10 shows can still be found on YouTube.

I was 16 in May of 1971 when NYC's WPIX-FM became an AT40 affiliate. I was already a "chart geek" and countdown afficionado but Casey made my silly obsession seem serious and legitimate. I was glued to his show every Sunday for the next 17 years. Yes, the 'dead dog" rant is classic and hilarious but the man touched people every week.